


Sirius and Remus Go on a Fake Date

by simplysirius



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Feels, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Heavy Angst, Jily Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Pining, Relationship(s), Remus x Sirius, james x lily - Freeform, jily, sirius x remus, wolfstar, wolfstar angst, wolfstar fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:53:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29684259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplysirius/pseuds/simplysirius
Summary: When James is desperate to get Lily to go out with him, he enlists Remus and Sirius’ help, forcing them on a fake double date that they wish was maybe not so fake.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 83





	Sirius and Remus Go on a Fake Date

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr @simplysirius for daily fics and fan art! I also take requests :)

“I’m sorry, you want us to what?” Sirius cried, leaping off the bed and pacing the length of the room.

Remus just blinked at James, lips parted, fingers frozen as they gripped the blankets.

“Just one time,” James begged. “Just so she’ll go out with me and realize how cool I am, and then she’ll be begging to get away from you two.”

“Let me get this straight,” Sirius said, knitting his eyebrows together. “You want Remus and me to pretend to be dating so Lily will go out with you on some fake double date?”

“Well, no, Pads, the whole point of this is that you two aren’t getting anything straight,” James corrected, unable to hide the smirk spreading across his mouth.

Remus tossed a pillow at him, unimpressed. James clasped his hands together, nearly lowering himself to the ground, groveling now. “Just do me a favor one time, alright? I promise I’ll buy you guys all the chocolate and tea and whatever the hell else you want for the rest of your lives. I’ll even pay for dinner.”

Remus’ eyes narrowed. “We’re just going to the Three Broomsticks?”

“Yeah, what exactly is the proposal?” Sirius added, crossing his arms on his chest.

“A couple rounds of butterbeer and a nice slow walk back to Hogwarts. Done. Easy as pie,” James confirmed, counting off on his fingers. “But you guys have to act like a proper couple. All the mushy hand holding and staring into each other’s eyes and conveniently sneaking off from time to time when you think we aren’t looking.”

Sirius shook his head, peering over at Remus, resting his face in his hands, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What do you think, Moony?”

Remus was quiet for a long moment, eyes half-lidded, staring at the floor. Finally, he nodded. “I guess so.”

“You guys are the best,” James cheered, pulling Sirius into a tight embrace, and then Remus, whose gaze still hadn’t left the grooves in the hardwood.

Convincing Lily they were dating might not be as difficult as James imagines it will be. Staring at Sirius and accidentally-on-purpose brushing their hands together and disappearing into dark hallways with his heart lodged in his throat when Sirius looked particularly handsome that day; Remus wouldn’t have to pretend at all. Convincing Lily would not be a problem; convincing himself that he was not madly in love with Sirius was a whole different story.

Sirius disappeared into the shower not much later, but if anyone thought it odd that he was showering in the middle of the day, they didn’t say anything. He turned the knob and let the water run until it was hot for much longer than necessary, leaning over the sink and staring down into the porcelain, his long hair framing his face like black curtains.

He just agreed to a date with Remus. A fake date, maybe, but a date nonetheless. A date where he had an excuse to fix the unruly curls sticking up everywhere on Remus’ head, to lace their fingers together and brush faded scars with his thumb, to sit so close together he could smell Remus’ strawberry lip balm on his breath.

In no uncertain terms, Sirius Black was absolutely fucked.

On the fated day, Remus changed his outfit no less than six times, throwing sweater after ugly sweater on the floor, and Sirius hardly ate anything at breakfast, an anchor weighing down his stomach. They met James and Lily outside the Three Broomsticks, making most of the walk from the castle in nervous silence.

“There they are,” Remus murmured, pointing towards the Three Broomsticks. James and Lily were caught up in a lively conversation, their shoulders turned just enough to not see the boys approaching.

“We should hold hands,” Sirius said suddenly, maybe a bit too loudly, before quietly adding, “you know, so it’s believable.”

“Right,” Remus nodded uncertainly, making a not-so-subtle attempt to wipe his clammy palm on his trousers before accepting Sirius’ hands.

He had never held hands before, certainly not with a boy, and neither had Sirius, but it wasn’t as strange a feeling as he had thought. Sirius’ hand was rough and a little calloused from playing Quidditch, and smaller than Remus expected, fitting perfectly inside his own. In a moment of total shock, Remus realized that Sirius’ hand was sweaty, too.

“Here we go,” Sirius mumbled, just steps away from James and Lily now. He gathered all the air he could muster in his chest, his voice now saccharine and chipper. “Hey guys!”

“About time you showed up!” James cheered, nodding approvingly at their intertwined hands. “I was beginning to think you guys decided to run off on your own date.”

Remus laughed tightly, his face already sore from the taut muscles. “Hey Lil.”

Lily peered at them carefully, examining their hands, their tense shoulders, their stiff smiles. “Hey. I had no idea…you’ve been keeping secrets, Remus.” She grinned, rosy cheeks puffing up as she glanced at Sirius. “You’re a better secret keeper than I would have thought, Black.”

“I’m the best secret keeper there is,” Sirius declared indignantly. “Should we…go inside?”

“Yeah, I was just telling Lily about the Quidditch World Cup this summer,” James explained, holding the door open for her. They filed inside, weaving their way towards an empty table in the back. “We should all go together, don’t you think? We could stay at my place and make a whole week out of it.”

“That sounds like fun,” Sirius agreed, sliding onto a seat next to Remus. Their elbows brushed, and for a split second, Sirius flinched away as he always had, careful to never get too close. But then Remus nudged his chair over so that, no matter how far Sirius leaned, they were always touching. It took half a pint of butterbeer before Sirius remembered that this was okay. This was supposed to happen.

Underneath the table, Sirius’ foot hooked around Remus’ ankle, pulling them even closer together. Remus’ face flushed, only too aware that neither James nor Lily could see the intimate gesture. Maybe this wasn’t just for show, after all.

“Wait, so you guys have to tell me everything,” Lily said, propping her chin up on her hand.

“Huh?” Remus said stupidly, still dazed by the feeling of Sirius’ skin against his.

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be daft. When did you two get together? And how? Who made the first move? I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

Remus glanced at James in absolute quiet panic, who could only manage a microscopic shrug and an imploring raise of his eyebrows. Parting his lips and hoping some coherent string of words could leave his mouth, Remus was about to make up a lie when someone beat him to it.

“Last year, at the end of fifth, right before went home for the summer,” Sirius answered, his voice strong and true, not showing any wavering signs of a lie. “We hugged goodbye and I guess we realized we didn’t want to let go. After that it sort of just…happened I guess.”

“Yeah,” Remus choked, “totally unexpected.”

Lily sighed, her shoulders falling as a lazy smile took up half her face. “That’s so cute. I always knew you guys were made for each other.”

“Wait, what?”

“You did?” James gawked, his head whipping towards her.

Lily brushed him off. “I mean, yeah. I can’t go one class without you guys making heart eyes at each other or Sirius making a terrible joke and Remus laughing at it anyways. It was only a matter of time, really.” Sirius and Remus both lost the ability to speak, breathe, and blink, so James quickly jumped into another conversation, complimenting Lily on her new dress and asking her something strange about classes and exams.

Was it that obvious? Remus thought he was so careful. Never stare too long, laugh too loud, smile too wide. Sirius couldn’t shake the feeling that Lily knew much more than she let on; had she seen the doodles in the margins of his notebooks? If Lily knew, did others know, too?

The rest of the night was a blur. Drinks were passed around, and Sirius sipped politely, but he was all too distracted by Remus pressed up against him, trying not to look at his lips when he talked, trying to calm his heart so Remus couldn’t tell how quickly it beat in his chest.

James and Lily were hitting it off fine, and even though she wasn’t completely falling for his boyish charm and clearly saw through his chivalrous declarations of love, even Remus could see that her smile was brighter as they left the Three Broomsticks and headed back to Hogwarts.

Falling behind them, Sirius and Remus watched James reach for Lily’s hand, holding their breath until she accepted his, their joined hands swinging between them as they wandered up the lane.

“Looks like things worked out alright,” Sirius said quietly.

“Yeah,” Remus agreed. There was no real reason for the boys to hold hands anymore – James and Lily were too far ahead now to see them – but Remus still held on tightly, his steps shortening, desperate for just a little more time together. “I guess this whole fake dating thing kind of worked.”

Sirius didn’t say anything. He swallowed and nodded silently before inhaling sharply, steeling himself. “Remember what Lily said? Back in the pub? What do you…think about that?”

Remus bit his lip, all hope dashed away that Sirius had somehow forgotten about that. “Um. I mean…I think your jokes are funny.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.” The crickets sang a quiet melody in the fading sunlight, doing nothing to calm Remus’ nerves. “I think…Lily’s a hopeless romantic sometimes. But she’s at the top of our class…and she’s usually never wrong.”

The Hogwarts castle loomed ahead, the end of their fake date all too close. Sirius let the words bounce around in his head. Of course Lily was hardly ever wrong; if she was, Sirius was always the first to let her know. She’d be thrilled to find out that, this time, especially, she was oh so right.

“I guess this is it,” Sirius said, reluctantly untangling their fingers as they came to the tall doors in the courtyard. The absence of Remus’ skin on his was frigid, and he shoved his hands in his pockets in an attempt to find some warmth. Nothing could replace Remus. “You’re…a good fake date partner.”

Remus rocked on the balls of his feet, blurting out the words before they could burn his tongue. “Maybe…we should go on another fake date soon.”

“Maybe it wouldn’t have to be fake.”


End file.
